Gary Ginn re-elected as coroner after defeating opponent for third straight election
Gary Ginn has been re-elected as Fayette County coroner for the fifth time on Tuesday after getting 60% of the vote to defeat challenger Larry Owens.
Ginn received 61,301 votes compared to 40,423 votes for Owens. It’s the third time Ginn has beat Owens in the general election for Fayette County coroner.
Ginn’s margin of victory was much larger this year than in the 2018 election, when he beat Owens by 7%. Ginn beat Owens by 22% in 2014, the first time the two ran against each other.
Owens was not surprised that he lost but was surprised by the 20-point margin. While he’s disappointed in the defeat, Owens is also disappointed that more hasn’t been done to remove Ginn from his office considering the controversies that have arisen under his leadership.
“With everything that has happened, why hasn’t somebody somewhere demanded his resignation or impeached him?” Owens said. “If that was the mayor, the council, the governor, anybody like that, the whole news media would be screaming for that.”
Ginn first became the coroner in 2002 after beating Richard Bottoms by less than 2,000 votes. His office was the first coroner’s office in Kentucky to have all its deputies certified by American Board of Medical Legal Death Investigators as official death investigators. Ginn received his certification in 2014.
Ginn, who was a part of the Department of Criminal Justice’s first formal basic coroners training course, has also reached the rank of “master coroner,” the highest a coroner can be ranked by the Coroner’s Association of Kentucky.
Ginn also received a certificate of special recognition by the National Transportation Safety Board for his efforts in the response to the deadly plane crash of Comair flight No. 5191 in Lexington.
Owens has worked in public service most of his life. He’s worked as corrections officer, firefighter and a paramedic. He’s also worked with a funeral home ambulance service. He has also worked as a deputy coroner with the Jessamine County, Woodford County and Fayette County coroners offices.
After his third time losing to Ginn for the coroner’s office, Owens said he will probably not run for coroner again.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 9:10 PM.
